Buildup
by Terrence Orson
Summary: So many people commit the crime. Not many consider it that, but it is really a capital crime, and the punishment slowly builds up from within until it's ready to strike. Delve into Richard's past for the love, struggle with life, family, and maybe more in this mostly friendly story in which suspense, I believe, is minimal, if present.
1. Chapter One

Here's where the story starts.

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><p>Buildup<p>

By

Terrence Orson

_Correlated with The Amazing World of Gumball Season 3, episode 7_

**COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: All characters and settings belong to their respective owners. This is an original idea that I've converted to FanFiction, using a "What If…?" theme.**

Evergreen (the town, not the yet to be published novel) © Z Group Production/Network, 2013-present.

Note: The screaming Richard did in Season 1, episode 29 does not apply to this fanfic.

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><p>1<p>

Usually, it takes cops for there to be an arrest; when cops aren't present, the arrest is from within oneself. To be arrested, one must be suspected of committing some crime, like a robbery, murder, kidnapping, and/or more. So many, though, commit a crime that they may not even realize, and it sooner or later proves to be a capital crime, bringing about a slow death that eats away at them until it suddenly strikes. In the city of Elmore, California, Richard Watterson was a repeat offender.

Richard walked into the Joyful Burger fast food restaurant. It was lunchtime for him, and he was craving a hamburger, so he went to the restaurant to satisfy himself. It was late June, so it was quite warm outside, and he had walked all the way from his house to the restaurant, a strenuous three-mile trek, so he was quite tired; plus, he wasn't used to moving such long distances on foot, or doing this much action in a day. He was considerably lazy. In fact, in 1983, Richard garnered the status of the laziest person in all of Elmore, taking it from the once Lazy Larry. They were only preteens.

Richard would have driven to Joyful Burger, but he had gotten his license suspended, and that was because he had proven to be the least safe driver in Elmore. Proof? Well, I only have a few instances, but as they say, quality over quantity.

Once, when he had been taking his children to school, he drove extremely recklessly, crashing through houses, areas blocked off due to road work, and such, and endangering so many lives around him. He had a GPS, but he had only followed the directions that told him which way to go and not when to go.

Another time, he had been on anesthetics after visiting the dentist, and they had made him loopy and had temporarily severed his ties to reality. His wife, Nicole, had told their kids to watch over him while she left the house for a time, but they lost him due to issues over flaking. Richard had gone around Elmore leaving a path of destruction. Tire skid marks lined the walls of house, and he even parked in a backyard pool. Strangely enough, this was actually an improvement from his usual driving habits.

Even with these two incidents, it took more for the Elmore law enforcement to take some responsibility, charge him with massive property damage, for which Nicole had to pay since Richard was unemployed, and suspend his license, whose acquisition was a mystery to everyone. Now, he had to walk to his destination whenever he went someplace without her. From the sweat stains on the armpit and abdomen of his cream colored dress shirt, which stuck to his rotund body as a result, one could tell he was definitely fatigued. The only thing keeping him from just giving up was the promise of food getting chummy with his mouth, taste buds, and stomach.

The restaurant was almost empty of customers because business was a little slow today, so Richard got to the ordering counter quickly even though he moved slowly to recover from the long walk. He leaned on the counter and panted, trying as much as he could to catch his breath and hoping his chest would stop hurting from all the walking. The cashier, Lawrence "Larry" Needlemeyer, walked up to him from the kitchen and grabbed a notepad and pencil.

"Welcome to Joyful Bur…" he began in his nasally, upbeat voice, but then, he saw that Richard was the customer, and his smile left his face. "Oh, it's you, Mr. Watterson." Larry sighed. "What would you like?"

Once Richard stood up, he took a look at the overhead menu. Joyful Burger had the food options one could expect in a typical American fast food restaurant, such as variations of burgers, fries and sodas of the three main sizes, breakfast options, and more. After almost a minute, Richard made his decision.

"I'll have two double cheeseburgers, hold the lettuce and tomato, extra cheese; large fries; and a large Joyfizz." Richard ended with a smile, seeming to have forgotten his long walk. Larry wrote the order down on his notepad.

"Alright. That'll be $6.27." Richard fished into his pocket for the money Nicole had given him—a ten dollar bill. She thought that if she gave him her credit card, things might be a little messy. He handed the money to Larry, who gave him his change and then walked back into the kitchen, and waited as his order was prepared.


	2. Chapter Two

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Even as a little boy, Richard had a voracious appetite, especially when it came to meat and sweets. Sweet meat. Meaty sweets. Okay, that sounded so wrong. Richard had eaten his first double hamburger at four years old, and he'd been introduced to candy at two. His mother, Josephine "Jojo" Watterson, a single parent, had been his provider.

Jojo wanted Richard to be safe from danger, so she chose to keep him inside the house or close to her as much as possible. She didn't buy vegetables for him because she felt knives were too dangerous for him. She only used one once to demonstrate this and discourage him from using them. Ironic, to say the least, but she used a fear tactic to dissuade him—pretending to cut off her arm as she cut a carrot while under the guise of using knives safely.

Jojo had gone to the length of danger-proofing the whole house, adorning it with various safety precautions such as corner paddings, electrical socket covers, and stair guards, and all items made of materials Jojo deemed unsafe were made of plastic or rubber. _A good mother prevents the incident before it happens_, she thought to herself.

"All you'll ever need is right here," Jojo told him in her guttural voice. Sitting on the coffee table in front of the six-year-old rabbit were his favorite foods—candies, beef products, sugary cereals. Nothing seemed immediately dangerous about that.

Richard devoured every bit of food on the table, but he didn't feel full, so he asked for more. Jojo got more food, and Richard promptly ate it. The cycle continued until he was finally full, and not once did he leave the couch.

This became habitual for Richard to the point that by high school, he was considerably overweight, weighing 240 pounds at 16 years old. He also was getting mostly D's and C-'s in all his classes due to poor work ethic—absolute laziness. His worst class was phys. ed. He couldn't proficiently do any of the activities required, and his worst performance was in the final mile-run. Of course, Jojo didn't care. As long as he was out of danger, he could be the biggest idiot God ever made, and she couldn't care less.


	3. Chapter Three

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Richard had a girlfriend, a blue cat named Nicole, during the end of junior high school and throughout high school, something only few could comprehend considering his very nature and hers by contrast. He had met her in seventh grade when he went through a phase in which he thought he was some cape-donning superhero named The Cottontail Cavalier. He had embarrassed himself in front of his peers, but Nicole had stuck up for him, praising his courage to be himself. The happiness and relief he felt at that moment went away when Jojo found out from a call from the principal that through his shenanigans, he had broken a hole through a wooden door with his head. To punish him for such disregard to safety, Jojo kept him out of school for two days.

In high school, Nicole was bothered by his laziness, diet, and academic mediocrity, especially since she was the opposite—regularly one of the Top 10 achieving students in her grade each year, and she was a physically healthy girl, but she was willing to overlook it because he meant well despite his flaws; plus, she was a bit of a social outcast and, therefore, in no position to ditch him. She had anger issues, which sometimes led to the destruction of school property, a lack of friends, and punishment. Of course, when she wasn't in a sour mood, she was as sweet as could be. That was part of the reason why she had originally stuck up for Richard as a preteen.

Following high school, Nicole attended the University of Evergreen in the nearby city of the same name, though with the size and spread of the campus, it could have been a city in its own right. Nicole majored in Business, preparing for a career in the Elmore Rainbow Factory, which Henry Cumus (say **cyoo'****-mis**)*, an entrepreneur cloud, had recently started.

Richard, on the other hand, didn't attend college. He had performed far below any and every college's requirements to obtain scholarships, and all of his applications had been rejected. He was forced to stay at home, watching TV—mostly younger kids' programming—and eating whatever he could get his hands on that he liked, separated from Nicole during much of the day for four years, minus summers. Richard's steadily increasing slothfulness began to cause strife in their relationship, but they married anyway at 26 years of age, and they moved into a house on York Street. Eight years later, they had their first child, Zachary, a blue cat who was ugly at birth for reasons no one knew.

Unlike Richard, Zach had both parents in his life, and even though only one did the heavy lifting in terms of raising him, it was the more responsible Nicole, that same parent, who taught him right from wrong. Of course, that's not to say that Richard didn't have any influence, most of which was counterproductive, on him. After all, it was he who introduced sugary snacks to Zach, such as gum balls, when he was five. In fact, Zach was so famous for bringing a bag of the candy to elementary school all the time that he garnered the nickname "Gumball" to the point that no one referred to him by his real name anymore, and by the time he was twelve, and he had a four-year-old rabbit sister, Anais, and an adoptive brother/pet goldfish, Darwin, no one really remembered it.

The introduction of sugar and lethargy set Gumball down a path similar to his dad, though to a lesser degree. Gumball had a penchant for candy, and laziness became one of his characteristics. by his adolescent years. He was much skinnier than his father at his age, though, but he had gained hips that were unusually wide for a boy. It was the fat within his diet. It made him look a little feminine.

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><p>*(') – put stress on the attached syllable.<p> 


	4. Chapter Four

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"Here you are, sir," said Larry, handing a tray of Richard's order to him. "Have a nice day." He sounded bored and insincere, though his customer took no notice.

"Thank you," said Richard who, in contrast to Larry, was smiling. He grabbed the tray, took a few ketchup packets from the container near the napkins, and went to one of the many empty booths.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Larry whispered, "Stay away from me."

Larry and Richard weren't on the best terms, at least on Larry's side. Larry had multiple jobs around Elmore due to how destructive and invasive the Watterson family could be, particularly the boys and Richard. Whenever mayhem ensued, the only reason that the family seemed to go scot-free was because Larry paid for the damages out of his own wallet, and to continue to be able to do so, he had to work several jobs. A major setback to this was when the shenanigans indirectly got him fired at times. In fact, whenever a Watterson got near him, something bad happened, so some time ago, he filed a restraining order against the family, but by now, it had expired. So far, though, this seemed to be a rather good day for him. Maybe today, Larry was finally catching a break.

Richard sloppily wolfed down his food, getting salt, grease, ketchup, mustard, and maybe more on his fingers. He licked the stuff off and went to his drink, finishing it with that awfully annoying sound one hears when trying to suck up the last drops of a drink in a cup through a straw. Larry didn't mind it. He heard it all the time when working here, so he was used to it.

Once Richard was finished, he threw the contents of his tray into the garbage can, but his tray in a short stack of used ones, and left. Unfortunately, he had to go another three miles to get back home. He sighed, but then, he put on a brave face, sucked in his gut and marched home, getting tired after only fifty steps. He panted as he trudged away from Joyful Burger, taking an hour and fifteen minutes to get home. The sun beat down on him the whole time, making him sweat onto his shirt again and feel nasty.

As he stepped onto the sidewalk in front of his house, he smiled. At last, he could be home and relax the rest of the day. Slowly, he trudged to the porch, and he walked up to the door. As he reached toward his pocket to get his house key, Richard felt a twinge of pain. It wasn't in his bare foot; he didn't have a splinter that needed to be tweezed out. It was in his arm. Maybe a mosquito had bitten him, and he was now noticing the resulting bump.

This was no bite. Richard grabbed his arm and stared at it in confusion for only a second when all of a sudden, he felt irregularity in his chest, and he was no longer able to breathe.

_A good mother prevents accidents…_

Gasping, he clutched his chest with one hand and his throat with the other as he stepped back, losing his balance. Finally, he fell backwards, landing on his back in a bush next to his porch, convulsing and still trying to breathe, his face turning from light pink to dark purple, and his eyes rolling back into his head.

_…before they happen._

Capital crime yields capital punishment. When he couldn't take the shortness of oxygen any longer, he passed out. He had just suffered a heart attack, followed by cardiac arrest, and he didn't have much time.


	5. Chapter Five

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Inside the house, Gumball and Darwin were playing video games when they heard a loud thud coming from outside. Curious, Gumball paused the game and looked in the direction of the sound. He got up, opened the door, and looked out on the porch. Nothing out of the ordinary. He walked up to the railing and looked down at the bush. At seeing the horrid sight, his eyes widened, his pupils shrank to being smaller than the period at the end of this sentence, his jaw dropped, and he gasped, accidentally inhaling a nearby fly. He coughed violently, trying to hack it back up. After he did and regained his focus, he yelled into the house, "Call Mom! Quick!"

"What is it?" Darwin asked, running outside urgently.

"Dad!" Gumball cried. Darwin took one look at Richard, and he instantly became frantic.

"Aah! Oh, my gosh! What happened?"

"I don't know! Quick, call Mom! I'll give him CPR!" Gumball's body was beginning to feel warm because of his nerves.

Darwin ran back inside the house and went to the cordless phone by the kitchen while Gumball ran down the porch steps and tried to revive his unconscious father. Grabbing the phone, Darwin dialed Nicole's cell number as quickly as his fin could. He waited a few seconds, his mind racing, and finally, she answered.

"Hello?" she asked. She was at the supermarket, buying various foods. She quickly moved her head away from her cell phone once Darwin told her the news because he was shouting, producing a momentary ring.

"Mom! Come quick! Dad's in a bush passed out, and he looks like he's not breathing!"

"What?" Nicole said, surprised. It sounded to her like Richard was either drunk and soon to get a hangover, or he was having a heart attack, and since she knew he didn't drink, she assumed the latter.

"I'll be on my way!" Hanging up, she dropped her bag of groceries on the ground, causing everything to spill out since the bag fell on its side, and took off for the exit. Having known Richard for more than 30 years, she knew the danger as well as the fact that time was of the essence. She got in her car and drove as fast as she could, bending the rules of the road as she did by speeding a little. One could only tell by holding up a RADAR gun to get a precise reading of her speed.

"Cleanup on aisle 7," announced one of the supermarket employees over the PA just after she exited. Pretty soon, a janitor came over and cleared the mess. A stocker was with him, and he placed all salvageable items back on the appropriate shelves.

Once his call with Mom was done, Darwin dialed 911 to get an ambulance. Meanwhile, Gumball's attempt to bring Richard back from unconsciousness was proving futile. He pressed his hands on his dad's chest and gave him breaths, but his dad wouldn't come to. He suppressed the idea that it might be too late, even though that was all he could think about, and held out hope, the fear of failure staining his forehead in sweat. Dad had to be alive. He had to be.

Gumball had some of the best times of his life with his dad. He, Darwin, and Richard played games they made up in the backyard like _I'm the President_, _Fruitball_, _Toe Wrestling_, and others. With Richard gone, he'd have to go back to solving 200+ piece jigsaw puzzles with Mom, and that would be both challenging due to his disuse of his brain, and stepping on Anais' territory again, and just because she had done that to him while looking for fun, he wasn't going to do the same thing conisdering his past failure.

The females preferred doing more brain stimulating activities while the males did more foolish, stupid, and sometimes dangerous, yet interesting and fun, games. It had been Richard who had made it especially fun because of his man-child personality and nearly perpetual joy. Gumball couldn't stand to think about what would happen if that exuberance disappeared for good.

Gumball was finally able to stop when the ambulance arrived. It took all four bandage paramedics that came to lift Richard's large, corpulent body onto the gurney because he was so heavy. They loaded him on and drove toward the Elmore Hospital. Just as they left, Nicole arrived.

"Get in!" she frantically ordered her boys. They hastily complied, not wanting to delay their mother further as she ran inside the house to get Anais, who was in her bedroom with her dolls, unaware of the present situation. Nicole quickly explained what Darwin had told her over the phone, knowing she could comprehend it, and then she carried her to the car.

Anais was shocked yet unsurprised at the same time as her mother carried her. She knew how her father ate and how he was excessively sedentary, being the second smartest member of the family, as evidenced by her attending a Junior High Gifted Program at age 4. The shock was the result of her never having imagined it would happen while she was so young. If he were to go, her biggest regret would be not having spent more time with him, even if he was far below her expectations of intelligence and common sense.

Nicole put Anais in the back seat next to Darwin, got in herself, and anxiously drove toward the hospital. All eight eyes were wide open in fear and anxiety as each second passed.


	6. Chapter Six

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Richard's hospital room was 313. His family was waiting right outside, hearts pumping like crazy, their bodies even shivering from anxiety. After only two minutes, the doctor slowly walked out of the room. His face, covered in perforations from being a band-aid, was serious and sullen. He took a deep breath but held it in for a few seconds. He seemed unsure of how to break the news to the family, wondering how they would take it. He only had a split second to make a decision, seeing them almost literally on the edges of their seats. Slowly, quietly, he let it out. He looked at Nicole with seriousness and sympathy in his eyes before closing them as he gave the message.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Watterson. He's gone," he said in a low voice. Immediately, the family gasped, and it became so quiet, one could hear a pin drop from the other side of the flapping door. Slowly, they all got up and entered the room to look at their lost family member.

Richard's face no longer looked like he was fighting to stay alive. He looked more relaxed and indifferent. His usual joyful open-mouthed smile had long since disappeared, replaced by a nearly straight line. His right hand, hanging slightly off the bed and beginning to get cold and rigid, was open a little, the fingers in such a position that it seemed like it was reaching out for someone else's hand. Tears forming, Nicole put her hand in his and stared at him. She was now a widow, and she needed time to accept this. It had to be overcome for her new life to become normal.

She fell to her knees and hugged his corpse, sobbing into his fur and shirt, and making his fur, and hers around her eyes, become a darker shade. After a while, she got up, kissed him one last time, and the kids tearfully took turns saying their goodbyes.

Nicole pulled the blanket over his face and watched as the doctor removed Richard from the room, handing the hospital bill to Nicole before he left. Slowly and miserably, she, Gumball, Darwin, and Anais left the hospital, got in the car, and went home. They had gone right past the receptionist's counter because they had health and life insurance, so they wouldn't have much trouble paying the expense.

As soon as she was parked, Nicole went straight upstairs to her bedroom to weep, and the children followed. Instead of upstairs, though, they went into the living room and sat down on the couch. They stared blankly at the TV, wondering what the future would hold for them. With Dad gone, it would be hard, but they knew deep in their hearts that they could handle whatever life would throw at them. They had before, and they would again. Now, though, was the time to grieve and remember. They did just that.

THE END


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